WORLD : ‘I Got Him,’ Geisha Says of Uno Exit

The former geisha whose tales of infidelity brought down Japan’s prime minister said today she cried tears of happiness when she saw Sosuke Uno announce his resignation on nationwide television this week.

“Victory at last,” was Mitsuko Nakanishi’s first reaction when Uno told the nation Monday he would resign. “Tears came running down. I felt like an athlete who just won a game.”

Uno, 66, who served only seven weeks as prime minister, was unable to put to rest Nakanishi’s allegations he paid her $21,000 for a four-month, extramarital affair.

“If I had not spoken out, he would still be prime minister today,” Nakanishi, 40, said in her first interview with a foreign correspondent since Uno’s resignation announcement.

“I set out to get him and I got him,” said Nakanishi.